Phone Tapping: Court Orders El-Rufai to Present His Defence

The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai’s no-case submission in a trial over the alleged unlawful interception of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s phone communications. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled on Monday that the Department of State Services (DSS) had presented enough evidence to require El-Rufai to enter his defence. His lawyer, Akinyemi Aremu, argued that the prosecution’s two witnesses had failed to establish a case against him. DSS lawyer Oluwole Aladedoye said the defence had not addressed Exhibit B, which contained El-Rufai’s alleged admission that he tapped Ribadu’s phone.